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"Magic is what makes fantasy fantastic," someone says, "you can't apply rules to them or else it loses wonder!" I respond, "Sure, but if you want to write them you will certainly want to know how they work." Writing is all about execution, and I find applying some basic laws of physics to magic systems make them more understandable and realistic. Here, I'm going to outline my basic method for developing a magic system.Column by Chaos2651Discuss it in our forums.

Mustard in Denver

You shouldn't have any trouble getting the text on your site. They let me do that with hardly a second thought. (Although, did you try to get your site listed in your book? That's another subject entirely.)

Mustard in Denver

The real reason for the website thing is that Chris Heimerdinger has a very popular website, and he bashes Covenant occasionally. I think they don't want it to look like the authors' opinions are Covenant's as well.

Mustard in Denver

I'm sure that their reluctance is due to their tight partnership with Seagull. Personally, if Seagull wants Covenant customers directed to their website, rather than Amazon, it's fine with me. Given the market, Seagull sells far far more than Amazon ever would.

Not to mention--the more forums you have to advertise your book in, the better sales will be, period. Of course with a niche market you have to target sales, but for a negligible cost, it's that much more likely to sell a few more copies. The easier people can find the book, the easier it gets sold--which means the more copies get sold.

Mustard still in Denver

What I'm saying is: Seagull, because of the tight relationship, offers so much more than any regular bookstore would. Just by being a Covenant book in a Seagull store, you're practically guaranteed four or five thousand sales. If Seagull acted more like a regular store, not a Covenant outlet, that number would probably drop by half, if not more.

To trade those semi-guaranteed sales, due to the relationship, in exchange for getting listed in places like Amazon seems silly. For example, both of my books have been listed with Barnes and Noble since they came out, and at most I sell two or three books a month through them.

Granted, there are oodles of negatives that arise from the fact the Seagull pushes Covenant almost exclusively, and Deseret Book pushes DB almost exclusively, but in this particular instance, the benefit of wider marketing doesn't outweigh the loss.

(Really though, it does seem silly that Seagull would put such stipulations on Covenant's marketing. As few sales as my Barnes and Noble listing generate, or even my Amazon listing, it can't affect Seagullbook.com).